On Wed, Mar 30, 2022 at 10:48:13AM +0800, David Gow wrote: > > + > > +Smatch does flow analysis and, if allowed to build the function database, it > > +also does cross function analysis. Smatch tries to answer questions like where > > +is this buffer allocated? How big is it? Can this index be controlled by the > > +user? Is this variable larger than that variable? > > + > > +It's generally easier to write checks in Smatch than it is to write checks in > > +Sparse. Nevertheless, there are some overlaps between Sparse and Smatch checks > > +because there is no reason for re-implementing Sparse's check in Smatch. > > This last sentence isn't totally clear to me. Should this "because" be "so"? > I stopped reading your email when you wrote "Cheers, David" but I should have scrolled down. There is not very much overlap between Sparse and Smatch. Both have a warning for if (!x & y). That is a tiny thing. The big overlap is when it comes to the locking checks. The Smatch check for locking is honestly way better and more capable. I always run both Sparse and Smatch on my patches. I should run Coccinelle as well, but I'm more familiar with Sparse and Smatch. regards, dan carpenter
